{"id":60,"date":"2017-12-31T17:32:44","date_gmt":"2018-01-01T00:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/arst516\/?p=60"},"modified":"2018-01-01T12:13:34","modified_gmt":"2018-01-01T19:13:34","slug":"text-messages-the-challenges-they-present-to-records-management-by-elizabeth-edgerton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/arst516\/?p=60","title":{"rendered":"Text Messages: The Challenges They Present to Records Management <\/em> by Elizabeth Edgerton <\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Corporations and government agencies are discovering the need to manage text messages as records. \u00a0That is to say, text messages are records, and need to be managed as such.<\/span><\/p>\n

Records are defined as \u201cany recorded information, regardless of medium or characteristics, made or received and retained by an organization in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business\u201d in the Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles (<\/span>GARP<\/span>). \u00a0Although some may argue that text messages have simply replaced phone calls and in-person discussions and thus do not need to be managed, the fact is that text messages largely fit GARP\u2019s definition. \u00a0However, the retention of text messages needs to be addressed.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A <\/span>No Jitter<\/span><\/i> article from October, <\/span>\u201cHow to Keep Text Messaging Inside the Business Secure & Compliant,\u201d<\/span><\/a> discusses some of the problems facing the capture and retention of text messages as records. \u00a0However, while it addresses the issue as a concern for Information Technology, it is of equal concern to records managers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Security is a major concern. \u00a0Regular consumer-grade messaging apps are vulnerable to hackers, who could easily gain access to sensitive information about employees or customers. \u00a0Text messaging must be more secure in a business or governmental setting. \u00a0The information exchanged must be protected against unauthorized access.<\/span><\/p>\n

Accountability is another reason text messages need to be managed. \u00a0In order to provide accountability, texts need to be retained and preserved. \u00a0As the above article explains, the use of unsanctioned apps means that business conversations are not archived and thus not able to be found during discovery proceedings. \u00a0Ultimately, this lack of control puts businesses at risk of not being compliant with various regulations, as well as being open to litigation risk.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both of these concerns are behind <\/span>the removal of text and social media messaging apps on the official phones of White House officials.<\/span><\/a> \u00a0This is an extreme solution, certainly, but one that must be taken until systems can be put in place to maintain compliance with the <\/span>Presidential Records Act<\/span><\/a>. \u00a0This is already something that is proving difficult with emails, so it may be some time before text messages are appropriately managed to meet government standards.<\/span><\/p>\n

Capture and retention solutions also need to be investigated. \u00a0The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard 15489 lays out processes for creating, capturing and managing records. \u00a0Record capture is more than making sure that a record is not destroyed. \u00a0It involves entry into a records system such that it can be located at a later time; the capture or creation of metadata is an important part of this step. \u00a0Similarly, storage has particular considerations as well, such as security from tampering or loss.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>No Jitter<\/span><\/i> article presents the possible solution of a business-dedicated messaging app as the best means to separate personal and professional messaging. \u00a0Such an app needs to provide message retention and archiving, in addition to encryption. \u00a0A cloud-based service would be especially beneficial, as it allows for centralization within the business. \u00a0This is perhaps the best solution for businesses that do not provide devices to their employees.<\/span><\/p>\n

One concern I would raise with this type of app is how it may affect relationships with clients. \u00a0The app should not be of the sort that will only communicate within itself, as this would require clients to download and use special messaging apps in order to conduct business, which could be seen as a hassle. \u00a0It would especially hurt business if a client has already had to use different apps with different companies.<\/span><\/p>\n

If a few messaging apps that meet these requirements become relatively ubiquitous for conducting business, there would be benefits for businesses, clients, and archivists. \u00a0Businesses may begin to receive employees already familiar with the app, and clients would have fewer apps to worry about. \u00a0Most importantly, this makes it easier for records managers and archivists to manage text message records. \u00a0The hope would be greater file preservation support, and records managers could be more easily manage one or two messaging platforms, rather than ten or fifteen.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is not uncommon, at the personal level, to use multiple messaging apps on a single device. \u00a0On my own device I use around three at any one time depending on who I am communicating with. \u00a0With this in mind, the transition to more secure messaging apps should be fairly painless. \u00a0There is also no need to re-invent the wheel. \u00a0Text messaging only needs to become capturable and more secure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Should such messaging apps gain traction, the benefits may begin to extend to personal messaging, as well. \u00a0Text messages play an increasingly important role in our daily lives, so it is reasonable to believe that archivists may wish for some to be preserved, and this is something that will only happen if we engage with it today. \u00a0Besides, it may mean less time spent scrolling through your messages because you <\/span>know<\/span><\/i> Joe sent you the information you need, if only you could find it.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Corporations and government agencies are discovering the need to manage text messages as records. \u00a0That is to say, text messages are records, and need to be managed as such. Records are defined as \u201cany recorded information, regardless of medium or characteristics, made or received and retained by an organization in pursuance of legal obligations or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54249,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3100255,3143036,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-digital-transformation","category-legal-issues-and-current-records","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/arst516\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/arst516\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/arst516\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/arst516\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/54249"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/arst516\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/arst516\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/arst516\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60\/revisions\/63"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/arst516\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/arst516\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/arst516\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}